In classical mythology, Endymion was a handsome, young shepherd (sometimes king) from Elis or Caria. Selene (Phoebe, Artemis, Diana), the moon goddess, fell in love with him and consequently neglected her lunar responsibilities.

As a result, Zeus offered Endymion a choice, death in whatever way he preferred or eternal sleep with perpetual youth. Endymion chose the latter. He slept in a cave on Mount Latmus where Selene continued to visit him.

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The Greek poet, Licymnius of Chios, however, suggests that it was the god Hypnos (Sleep) who loved Endymion and lulled him to sleep with his eyes open so that the god might forever gaze into them.

Endymion was represented in ancient art as recumbent, usually nude or semi-nude, asleep, with one arm crooked behind his head. This motif appears commonly on sarcophagi of the Roman Empire. In the funerary context, the presence of Endymion suggests the possibility of a dream-like existence beyond death.

In domestic paintings and mosaics, the figure of Endymion is primarily erotic and represents not only male physical beauty, but also youthful innocence and sexual accessibility.

Numerous post-classical artists painted the story of Endymion, for example, Titian (ca 1508), Tintoretto (ca 1575-1580), Poussin (ca 1630), Rubens (ca 1636), van Loo (1731), and Fragonard (ca 1753-1755). Most notable is Endymion Asleep (1793) by Anne-Louis Girodet who captured not only the subtle effect of moonlight, but also the utter passivity of the supine Endymion.

Homoeroticism is a prominent presence in neoclassicism, an artistic movement noted for its masculine style, its appreciation of male beauty, and its privileging of ancient Greece and Rome as civilizations to be emulated.

Several artists and art critics of the nineteenth century achieved a self-aware homosexual identity that is expressed in both their lives and their works, but lesbianism is only rarely depicted in terms of identity during this period.

Throughout his long career, French neoclassical painter Anne-Louis Girodet-Trioson concentrated on subjects that confused and conflated masculine and feminine characteristics, and often imbued them with homoeroticism.